


Promises

by Loupmont



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst, Character Death, M/M, Spoilers, Sylvix Week (Fire Emblem)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-17
Updated: 2019-10-17
Packaged: 2020-12-20 20:03:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21062405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loupmont/pseuds/Loupmont
Summary: My contribution to Sylvix Week 2019, as I play catch-up since I had no idea it was going on until today. I'll be writing some more drabbles or doing art for the other prompts.Day 1 Prompt: Promises/Childhood/ReunionFelix and Sylvain reunite as enemies on the Tailtean Plains. Their hands forced by their respective commanders, they must fight to the death.





	Promises

Two children lay on a snow-crested hill, carefully bundled in fur and thick woolen fabric. They watched the sky grow dark, periodically sitting up to watch the sun sink further into the horizon.  
The older child, who had a shock of red hair, turned to his companion. "Felix?"  
"What is it, Sylvain?" Asked Felix, a boy with dark blue hair.  
"I was reading a book today, about these two who were so close that they died together."  
"And?"  
"Well", Sylvain smiled sheepishly, "I want you to promise me that we'll die together, no matter what."  
Felix was taken aback, "Promise to die together? Our deaths are far far away, why are you thinking about that?"  
"Because, I love you. I could never live without you and I know that you couldn't live without me."  
"Love me?"  
"Yeah you're my favourite person in the whole wide world. More than Ingrid, more than Dimitri…even more than my parents!"  
"Your favourite person? Me? Oh Sylvain…" Tears formed in Felix's eyes as he hugged his friend, "You're my favourite, too. Okay, I promise that we will die together."  
They kept staring into the sky. Stars popped into view shortly before they were called back into Sylvain's house by his parents.

\--  
  
The steady march of the Black Eagle Strike Force cut through most of Fódlan. Soon, the Adrestian Empire would unify the whole continent and banish the oppressive Crest system. Today's battle would be at Tailtean Plains, where Dimitri and his army would be stationed.  
Felix counted himself lucky so far - he was with the winning army and had never had to face anyone he was particularly attached to. His former classmates faced off against others in the army and had died. He briefly mourned them, but moved on with a clear conscience that their blood was not on his hands.  
Most of all, Sylvain seemed to not be fighting. Felix figured that Dimitri would have stationed him somewhere by now, considering that he was one of the best knights of the Kingdom of Faerghus. He dreaded the thought that he would have to kill Sylvain, or that someone else would.  
In the war room, Byleth and Hubert were discussing today's strategy. The rest of the Strike Force, including Felix, were attentive as this was going to be a hard-won battle.  
"Felix, you and Dorothea will be pushing ahead to this area highlighted here on the map. There will be some cavalier forces emerging from the surrounding area. Got it?"  
Felix nodded, "I got it."  
He felt an anxious pang, the same type he got before each battle. Especially when he heard the word "cavalier" - Sylvain was a cavalier. He had no idea what precisely he was in terms of class since they hadn't spoken in a while. He might be one of the people he had to kill…  
He excused himself from the room to go outside. He was about to be sick.  
  
The battle begun a couple hours later. Felix moved through his assigned area, cutting down soldiers as he progressed. He scarcely noticed the blood sprayed upon his clothes with each swipe or thrust that cut through flesh.  
As predicted by Hubert, there were cavaliers at the end of the path. Felix stopped to observe them, to see if there was a familiar face among them. There was a Great Knight among the crowd, though he was unable to see their face due to the others surrounding them. Silently, he moved through and cut down as many of the cavaliers and their horses as he was able to. Dorothea was behind him, providing magical support and finished off what he was unable to.  
As Felix drew closer to the Great Knight, his blood ran cold. He saw that familiar shock of red hair, that smirk, those light brown eyes. He nearly dropped his bloody sword.  
"Felix, what's wrong?" Asked Dorothea, who had a concerned expression.  
Before Felix could answer, Sylvain had closed the gap betwixt them. He lowered the Lance of Ruin, but still gripped it tightly. Dorothea backed off, knowing that this moment was precious to them both and out of self-preservation, leaving the two alone.  
"Hey, Felix?"  
Felix's heart froze upon hearing Sylvain's voice.

\--  
  
"You're transferring to Black Eagles? But, what about us?"  
Sylvain clearly sounded like he was pleading with Felix. Begging him not to go.  
"The Professor wants me to go into their class. I'm quite impressed by their swordsmanship, and I will definitely be able to learn a lot from them."  
Sylvain blinked, "But what about us, Felix? You'll be in a different class and I won't be able to see you as much."  
Felix stared at his boots, "I'm sorry, Sylvain. Maybe you can transfer, too."  
"I'd rather stay with my friends here." Sylvain brightened, "I can still see you between classes, right?"  
"Of course. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I couldn't see you." Felix smiled, "You were my date to the White Heron Ball. You danced so wonderfully, and then you took me to the Goddess Tower."  
"I still remember like it was yesterday, Felix. I held you in my arms, we watched the sunset, and we shared our vows."  
"We practically got married in there", Felix laughed, "You with your poetry. I remember we renewed that one vow that we made as kids. About dying together."  
"Yes, I remember that. That one made your heart skip."  
"It did."

\--  
  
"Remember when we were kids and we made a promise about dying together?"  
Felix snapped back to reality when he heard Sylvain speak again, "I remember."  
Sylvain rubbed the back of his head, "Well, seems we're about to kill each other."  
Felix, still haunted by the memories, uttered words he never thought he could ever say.  
"Sorry, Sylvain. You'll die first."  
Those words froze Sylvain just long enough for Felix to force his sword through the joins between his chest and rib plates. He stood no chance as the sword sliced through his lung and pierced his heart, the feeble beating of which Felix could feel through the handle of his sword. Sylvain fell limply from his horse, which bolted off. Felix did not bother to pursue the scared animal. Instead, he knelt by Sylvain, who was trying to speak.  
"I…was…a fool. I…love…"  
Felix leaned down to listen to his former lover's heart, which beat precisely two more times before stopping.  
"Sylvain… I love you."  
Felix hoped that the message would still reach Sylvain's brain before it completely died from lack of a blood supply. He stared into the glazed eyes, running his fingers through red locks. He prayed, hoped, that Sylvain would not be fighting in this war. He prayed he could return home to him to live out their lives together. In that moment, all that hope had shattered.  
There was one thing left to do.  
He lifted Sylvain's body over his shoulders, carrying it to the nearest hill. The dearth of people nearby would ensure that he wouldn't be spotted. He laid Sylvain on the ground, stripped the plate mail off his body so he was only wearing his clothing, and placed a kiss on his pale, cooling lips. Felix snuggled up to the body, laying his head on Sylvain's chest. He nearly remembered how his heart sounded, but grief mired his memory. He watched the sun setting, giving way to a starry night. He cracked open a certain book that he and Sylvain enjoyed as children, reading it to Sylvain as if he were soothing a child to sleep. He closed his own eyes as he finished, to dream of better days.

\--  
  
"Where's Felix? Everyone else is accounted for except him. We need him to face Rhea."  
"I don't know", Byleth told a frustrated Edelgard. "Did we check the whole battlefield?"  
"Yes, and there is a trail of blood leading from where I told Felix he would be end up. We have people following it as we speak", Hubert answered.  
Just then, one of the soldiers came back to the war room, "Hey! We found something! Can you follow us?"  
Byleth decided they would go, insisting that Hubert and Edelgard stay where they were. They followed the soldier to a hill near the plains, where two bodies lay on the ground. They recognized the two bodies: one belonged to Felix, the other was his boyfriend who was separated from him by the war. They knelt by the two bodies to feel for a pulse; they found none in either body. Felix had no apparent wounds or signs of foul play - he apparently just died then and there.  
In Felix's hand, Byleth found a small book. They picked it up and read the title - The Two Horsemen. They cracked the book open to where his thumb had been.  
"The two horsemen, forced into opposite sides of a war they didn't start, lay beside one another. Their love, even in the end, was so strong as to create a monument."  
This was the first time, since the death of Jeralt, that Byleth shed a tear.


End file.
